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Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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Correlates Of Project Success In The Nigerian Real Estate Construction Sector, Augustine Ofodile Onyali Jan 2017

Correlates Of Project Success In The Nigerian Real Estate Construction Sector, Augustine Ofodile Onyali

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Project managers in the Nigerian real estate construction sector are facing challenges in delivering real estate projects profitably. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine how comprehension, motivation, skills, resources, and communication can predict project success in the real estate construction sector in Nigeria. Understanding these elements was necessary for developing project management strategies aimed at optimizing profitability. The population of the study was project management practitioners in the Nigerian real estate construction sector who are facing challenges in delivering real estate construction projects profitably. The duck alignment theory served as the theoretical framework for the study. Data …


Financial Strategies Of Small Businesses To Gain Access To Capital, Atta Boateng Owusu Jan 2017

Financial Strategies Of Small Businesses To Gain Access To Capital, Atta Boateng Owusu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, total small business outstanding loans declined by 2.5 % in 2013, compared to a 10.4% increase in 2012. Scholars and business practitioners have indicated that small business entrepreneurs experience constraints in accessing capital to grow their businesses. Many small firm owners lack the financial strategies for gaining access to capital to sustain their businesses. Building on system functionality theory, the purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to explore the financial strategies among 3 purposefully-selected small business owners in Washington DC metro area who successfully overcame the financial constraints. Six themes emerged from the thematic …


Strategies For Reducing Employee Absenteeism For A Sustainable Future: A Bermuda Perspective, Allison Nicola Simone Forte Jan 2017

Strategies For Reducing Employee Absenteeism For A Sustainable Future: A Bermuda Perspective, Allison Nicola Simone Forte

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee absenteeism results in billions of dollars in revenue losses and lost productivity annually. Given the consequences that organizations could face resulting from high levels of work absences, executives should develop strategies to manage absenteeism to support organizational growth and sustainability. Grounded in the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of the single case study was to explore strategies managers in the private insurance industry used to reduce employee absenteeism. The population consisted of 3 managers located in Bermuda who implemented strategies to decrease employee absenteeism from a Bermuda perspective. Data included semistructured interviews, results of the company's 2016 engagement …


Strategies To Minimize The Effects Of Information Security Threats On Business Performance, Stella Ifeyinwa Okoye Jan 2017

Strategies To Minimize The Effects Of Information Security Threats On Business Performance, Stella Ifeyinwa Okoye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business leaders in Nigeria are concerned about the high rates of business failure and economic loss from security incidents and may not understand strategies for reducing the effects of information security threats on business performance. Guided by general systems theory and transformational leadership theory, the focus of this exploratory multiple case study was to explore the strategies small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) leaders use to minimize the effects of information security threats on business performance. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 5 SME leaders who worked in SME firms that support oil and gas industry sector in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, had …


Strategies To Sustain Positive Leader-Employee Relationships To Increase Productivity, Bont'e Twyman-Abrams Jan 2017

Strategies To Sustain Positive Leader-Employee Relationships To Increase Productivity, Bont'e Twyman-Abrams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior executive leaders face ongoing challenges assessing whether their leadership teams have the competencies to respond to rapidly changing business conditions resulting from negative leader-employee interactions. The purpose of this qualitative single-unit case study was to explore strategies that team leaders at an online, for-profit high school education system located in Delaware, used to sustain positive leader-employee relationships to increase employee productivity. The population consisted of 5 current team leaders (faculty members and executives) at the study site who had experienced team member losses, yet had implemented effective strategies to sustain positive leader-employee relationships and increased employee productivity. The conceptual …


Strategies And Processes For Implementing Financial Analysis For Business Success, Dawn Theona Alexander-Joseph Jan 2017

Strategies And Processes For Implementing Financial Analysis For Business Success, Dawn Theona Alexander-Joseph

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The early failure of startup businesses is a concern for many local communities, including the Virgin Islands, with about half of startups failing within the first 5 years of their life cycle. Besides the social and economic impact on communities, these failures have a personal effect on small business owners. Grounded in decision-making theory and the theory of financial management, the purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies and processes Virgin Islands retail business managers use to implement financial analysis for decision making to help sustain their operations. Data were collected using company records and semistructured interviews …


Ranking Of Mortgage Underwriting Criteria For Multifamily Rental Property, Tejram Basdeo Jan 2017

Ranking Of Mortgage Underwriting Criteria For Multifamily Rental Property, Tejram Basdeo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 2007-2009 recession negatively impacted the global economy, especially the real estate industry and multifamily rental properties. Obtaining credit became difficult, real estate lost 41% equity, 223 commercial banks failed, and 3.2 million homes were in foreclosure. Grounded in systems theory, the purpose of this causal comparative study was to examine the impact of mortgage lender type on the average ranking of 8 mortgage underwriting outcome measures. For the study, 44 accredited mortgage professionals completed an online-survey. The results of the analyses of variance indicated a statistically significant (p < 0.001) lender type effect on credit score and loan-to-value ratio. Further analyses on credit score indicated a significant (p = 0.006) relationship between Category A and B lenders, Category A and C lenders (p < 0.001), and Category B and C lenders (p < 0.001). Further analyses on loan-to-value ratio indicated a significant (p = 0.017) relationship between Category A and B lenders and also Category A and C lenders with (p < 0.001), but the difference between Category B and C lenders is not statistically significant with (p = 0.063). The implications for positive social change include economic growth and expansion, as access to financing increases. Tenants in multifamily rental properties might also benefit from economic growth as the standard of living could increase when landlords initiate capital spending and development.


The Trilogy Of Science: Filling The Knowledge Management Gap With Knowledge Science And Theory, Anthony Shawn Bates Jan 2017

The Trilogy Of Science: Filling The Knowledge Management Gap With Knowledge Science And Theory, Anthony Shawn Bates

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The international knowledge management field has different ways of investigating, developing, believing, and studying knowledge management. Knowledge management (KM) is distinguished deductively by know-how, and its intangible nature establishes different approaches to KM concepts, practices, and developments. Exploratory research and theoretical principles have formed functional intelligences from 1896 to 2013, leading to a knowledge management knowledge science (KMKS) concept that derived a grounded theory of knowledge activity (KAT). This study addressed the impact of knowledge production problems on KM practice. The purpose of this qualitative meta-analysis study was to fit KM practice within the framework of knowledge science (KS) study. …


Analytic Tradecraft In The U.S. Intelligence Community, John Joseph Borek Jan 2017

Analytic Tradecraft In The U.S. Intelligence Community, John Joseph Borek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 addressed the belief that weak analytic tradecraft had been an underlying cause of intelligence failures in the U.S. by requiring the Director of National Intelligence to establish and enforce tradecraft standards throughout the U.S. intelligence community (IC). However, analytic tradecraft-the innate abilities and learned skills of intelligence analysts, combined with the tools and technology needed to conduct analysis-is an understudied and poorly understood concept and a decade later, the frequency of intelligence failures has not improved. Using actor-network theory (ANT) as the foundation, the purpose of this qualitative narrative study was …


A Comparison Between Administrative Leadership In Higher Education And Change-Oriented Leadership In Banks, Glenn King Jr Jan 2017

A Comparison Between Administrative Leadership In Higher Education And Change-Oriented Leadership In Banks, Glenn King Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational environments continually change. Organizations that do not meet the demands for change do not survive. The required changes differ for banks versus universities, suggesting that leaders in each type of organization need to use unique styles to adapt to their unique environments. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to test a contingency theory of leadership that leaders of banks are change-oriented, whereas leaders of higher educational institutions are administrative in their style. The research questions dealt with differences in the uncertainty of internal operations and the external environment of banks versus universities, and the leadership style most …


Small Business Marketing Strategies For The First 5 Years, Shiina Pai Jan 2017

Small Business Marketing Strategies For The First 5 Years, Shiina Pai

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses have an integral role in the U.S. economy and represent 99.7% of all employers in the United States; however, approximately 50% of small business start-ups fail within the first 5 years. Developing and implementing a well-formulated marketing strategy is critical to the success of business because a marketing strategy provides long-term benefits for a company's financial performance and increases the survival rate. The objective of this case study was to explore the marketing strategies that small retail business owners use to sustain their businesses for the first 5 years. The population was 5 successful retail-based small business owners …


Effects Of Change Valence And Informational Assessments On Organizational Readiness For Change, James Edward Phillips Jan 2017

Effects Of Change Valence And Informational Assessments On Organizational Readiness For Change, James Edward Phillips

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nearly two-thirds of organizational change initiatives are unsuccessful due to a lack of high levels of change readiness prior to implementation of the change. A review of the literature supported the importance of establishing organizational readiness for change (ORC), but a gap remained in the empirical data and extant literature about whether presumed antecedents identified in ORC theory contribute to increased levels of ORC. The purpose of this study was to gather empirical data to address this question of whether change valence and informational assessment scores are associated with increased levels of organizational readiness for implementing change. The research design …


Virtual Team Success: The Impact Of Leadership Style And Project Management Experience, Albert Udom Jan 2017

Virtual Team Success: The Impact Of Leadership Style And Project Management Experience, Albert Udom

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The ability of project managers to effectively lead virtual teams is an important factor in the teams' success. Since the 1990s, organizations' use of virtual teams to plan and execute projects has increased, yet virtual teams continue to have high failure rates. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine whether a relationship exists between leadership styles, years of project management experience, and success of virtual teams. I used the path-goal theory of leadership as the theoretical framework for this study. A nonpurposive random sample of 160 project managers in the San Francisco Bay Area who had obtained the …


Leader - Member Exchange And Performance In Nonprofit Human Services Organizations, Charles A. Archer Jan 2017

Leader - Member Exchange And Performance In Nonprofit Human Services Organizations, Charles A. Archer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Success of nonprofit human services organizations depends upon the ability to cultivate high quality performance among staff members. Employees of such organizations experience lower job satisfaction when managers disregard their opinions or treat them as unimportant. The purpose of this qualitative, exploratory case study was to explore employees' perspectives on the quality of their relationships with their supervisors and impacts of that perception on job performance. The central research questions regarded how employees understood those relationships and their impact on their work success. Using the framework of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, which centers upon the employee-supervisor relationship, data were collected …


Pathways For Improving Nigeria's Procurement System, Donald Osebhawe Areguamen Jan 2017

Pathways For Improving Nigeria's Procurement System, Donald Osebhawe Areguamen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The manual procurement processes used by some private companies result in increased costs and contract fulfillment delays. The focus of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies procurement managers use to reduce costs and contract fulfillment delays. The population for this study was three procurement managers of private plastics companies located at Maitama, in Abuja, Nigeria. Weiss's theory of change was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews and an exploration of company archival financial documents. Data were transcribed, coded, and then validated through member checking, resulting in the emergence of 5 themes: …


Strategies To Reduce Stress In The Insurance Industry, Rhonda Gene Bell Jan 2017

Strategies To Reduce Stress In The Insurance Industry, Rhonda Gene Bell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately 40% of American workers report their jobs are extremely stressful. Business leaders who fail to address workplace stress increase employee propensity for poor performance, resulting in diminished profits. Grounded in the person-environment fit framework, the purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies 9 insurance industry leaders in Franklin County, Ohio used to mitigate workplace stress. The 9 insurance leaders who participated in the study work closely with staff, have experience working in stressful work environments, and utilize various tools to reduce stress. Data collected from face-to-face interviews and reviews of organizational documentation were useful for the …


Work Motivation Theory: Identifying Multi-Generational Values In The Workplace, Rhonda Rochelle Brown-Crowder Jan 2017

Work Motivation Theory: Identifying Multi-Generational Values In The Workplace, Rhonda Rochelle Brown-Crowder

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The workforce is diverse on gender, race, ethnicity, culture, work styles, and age. Employees from different generations have varying expectations of what they value from the workplace and therefore approach work differently. Generational differences can lead to mistrust and communication breakdowns. They can also impact job satisfaction and productivity. The Generational Cohort Theory was utilized in this nonexperimental study, and the sample was recruited from CB Richard Ellis Real Estate Group. The purpose of this study was to determine the work values differences among the 4 generational cohorts: Silent, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. The research questions for this …


A Case Study Of Rural Community Colleges' Transition To Entrepreneurship, James D. Genandt Jan 2017

A Case Study Of Rural Community Colleges' Transition To Entrepreneurship, James D. Genandt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The traditional role of workforce training by community colleges in support of regional economic development is insufficient to help rural areas survive in a global economy. Rural community colleges are uniquely positioned to provide enhanced economic development support through entrepreneurship and small business development programs. Using Woolcock and Narayan's conceptualization of social capital, the purpose of this case study of 4 community colleges in a midwest state was to identify specific entrepreneurship strategies rural community colleges use relative to economic development. The data were collected via email and telephone interviews with 11 employees connected to leadership and/or economic development from …


Management Contingencies Between Privately-Funded And Publically-Funded Broadcasting Organizations, Michael Godson-Amamoo Jan 2017

Management Contingencies Between Privately-Funded And Publically-Funded Broadcasting Organizations, Michael Godson-Amamoo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations, for-profit or not-for-profit, continually assess demands from their internal and external stakeholders and adjust their operations and strategies for long term sustainability. Building on the classical contingency theory of organization, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify the differences of operational values and principles between private and public broadcasting organizations; an additional goal was to examine how these organizations use their operating choices to adapt to their environment. In a comparative study design between for-profit and not-for-profit broadcasting organizations as independent variables, the focus of the study was to compare 3 groups of dependent variables regarding operational …


Beyond The Enclave: Success Strategies Of Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Jose Delfin Gonzalez Jan 2017

Beyond The Enclave: Success Strategies Of Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Jose Delfin Gonzalez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, immigrant entrepreneurs start almost one third of all new businesses. However, many immigrant entrepreneurs lack the knowledge or expertise to evolve their businesses beyond the ethnic enclave where the businesses are located. This multiple case study captured the strategies used by 5 Latino immigrant business owners who successfully expanded their business beyond their ethnic enclave. The conceptual framework for this study was dynamic capabilities theory. Data were collected from interviews, company documents, and observations of the operation of businesses and owners. Member checking and transcript reviews were used to enhance the reliability and credibility of the …


Leadership Development For The Formal Nurse Leader, Lori Neu Jan 2017

Leadership Development For The Formal Nurse Leader, Lori Neu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse leaders are essential to the advancement of healthcare because of their ability to bridge the gap of knowledge between clinical practice and the business of healthcare. Developing nurse managers is imperative to the future of nursing given their influential role in healthcare. The central topic of exploration in the project was how nurse managers use the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) Nurse Manger Inventory Tool to assess their management skills after exposure to the leadership development program currently available to them. In this project, the novice to expert theory was used to evaluate the existing leadership development program …


E-Commerce Adoption By Small And Medium Enterprises In Nigeria, Anthony Obioma Nwosu Jan 2017

E-Commerce Adoption By Small And Medium Enterprises In Nigeria, Anthony Obioma Nwosu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The future survival of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is inextricably linked to their implementation of e-commerce systems. The lack of e-commerce strategies among SME business owners has contributed to a low level of e-commerce adoption by SMEs. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that Nigerian SME business owners used to implement e-commerce systems. The population consisted of retail SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria, that have functional e-commerce systems. The conceptual framework supporting the study was dynamic capabilities framework. Data for the study were derived from semistructured interviews of 4 SME business owners/managers and documentation …


Fire Officer Leadership Strategies For Cost Management, Leo R. Sedlmeyer Jan 2017

Fire Officer Leadership Strategies For Cost Management, Leo R. Sedlmeyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fire departments in the United States accounted for 31% of municipal budgets with increases of 85% spending between 2015 and 2016. The purpose of this single case study was to explore leadership strategies fire officers used to manage costs associated with hazardous operations. The conceptual framework grounding this study was transformational leadership theory. The participants in this study were 10 fire officers who manage hazardous operations in central Wisconsin. The data collection process included open-ended questions in a semistructured format resulting in transcripts, a review of fire department staffing documents, and personal journal notes. Methodological triangulation was used to compare …


Marketing Strategies To Enhance Profitability Among International Oil And Gas Service Companies, Hesameddin Zafari Jan 2017

Marketing Strategies To Enhance Profitability Among International Oil And Gas Service Companies, Hesameddin Zafari

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A significant drop in oil price in 2014 resulted in enormous pressure on marketing managers of international oilfield service companies to address new market expectations. In such competitive conditions, some marketing managers lack strategies to leverage profitability during downturns. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that senior marketing managers of international oilfield service companies in the Middle East successfully used to enhance sales performance, revenues, and profits during periods of declining oil prices. Theory of market segmentation, targeting, and positioning formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews of 5 …


Restaurant Management Strategies To Comply With Food Safety Regulations, Dr. Carlos Juan Calcador Jan 2017

Restaurant Management Strategies To Comply With Food Safety Regulations, Dr. Carlos Juan Calcador

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The recent economic crisis in Puerto Rico has created decreased health department fiscal capabilities, adding more responsibilities to health department officials in charge of restaurant inspections without adding more operational funds, which in turn led to less regulatory capacity. This situation instigated increased food safety regulation violations, and food safety legislation changes, imposing more economic pressure to restaurant owners, which leads to a lack of restaurant sustainability. The purpose of this case study was to explore strategies six business visionaries, smart entrepreneurs, who have positioned themselves as successful restaurateurs, in the restaurant industry in Puerto Rico. They were key factors …


African American Charitable Giving In Charlotte, North Carolina: Engagement Strategies, Keith Eric Cradle Jan 2017

African American Charitable Giving In Charlotte, North Carolina: Engagement Strategies, Keith Eric Cradle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit agencies are instrumental in U.S. society and local communities. While there is significant outreach targeted for wealthy and middle-class Caucasian families, there is a lack of targeted effort for African Americans. The purpose of this case study was to explore the strategies development directors use to engage and retain African American donors. The focus of the research questions was what factors lead to successful engagement campaigns for African Americans. The qualitative case study was suitable for gathering data from multiple sources of information, including an interview questionnaire and existing literature. A purposeful sampling strategy was appropriate for choosing 5 …


Employee Job Satisfaction And Employees' Voluntary Turnover Intentions (Vtis), Bridgette Larkin-Perkins Jan 2017

Employee Job Satisfaction And Employees' Voluntary Turnover Intentions (Vtis), Bridgette Larkin-Perkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Within the U.S. sales industry, organizational productivity has decreased due to employee job dissatisfaction and increased voluntary turnover intentions (VTIs). Some leaders in the industry lack knowledge about the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction, and the negative effect on employees' VTIs. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine whether intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction significantly predicted retail sales employees' VTIs. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and the Turnover Intentions Scale (TIS-6) were used to collect data from full- or part-time employees in the U.S. retail sales industry. The theoretical framework was based on Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory. …


Information Technology Management Strategies To Implement Knowledge Management Systems, Mary Jane Mcgee Jan 2017

Information Technology Management Strategies To Implement Knowledge Management Systems, Mary Jane Mcgee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More than 38% of the U.S. public workforce will likely retire by 2030, which may result in a labor shortage. Business leaders may adopt strategies to mitigate knowledge loss within their organizations by capturing knowledge in a knowledge management system (KMS). The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that information technology (IT) managers use to develop and implement a KMS. The target population consisted of IT managers in a small-sized organization located in northwestern Florida who had implemented a KMS successfully. The conceptual framework for this study was organizational knowledge creation theory. The collection of public …


Nonprofit Sustainability: How Does Departure Of A Founding Leader Impact Outcomes?, Lauren Mcindoo Jan 2017

Nonprofit Sustainability: How Does Departure Of A Founding Leader Impact Outcomes?, Lauren Mcindoo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a high failure rate among local community-based nonprofit human service organizations in New York State, which may lead to service gaps in communities. Increasing sustainability may reduce these gaps and allow nonprofits to continue following the first leadership transition. Using McGregor's human resource theory as the guide, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the relationship between leadership succession planning and how departure of founding leaders impacts the sustainability of nonprofits. Data were collected through interviews with 16 leaders that included departing founding leaders, successors, and 2 board members in 4 local community-based nonprofit human service …


Multigenerational Financial Values: Differences Between Leaders In The Workplace, Terrence S. Ransom Jan 2017

Multigenerational Financial Values: Differences Between Leaders In The Workplace, Terrence S. Ransom

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Company leaders in the workplace represent all generations with diverse values, and those values influence their financial decisions in the workplace. The problem is that multigenerational company leaders and their employees possess different values from one another, which in turn creates different financial priorities for the company. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a better understanding of how the financial values of company leaders from different generations are developed, and how those values influence their financial decisions in the workplace. The key research question for this qualitative study examined how the financial values and decisions of company …